


Camera Angles

by ConventionalScarlet (FrerardCake)



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Small Town, F/M, Graphic Description, Homophobia, M/M, Murder Mystery, Writer!Len, photographer!Barry
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-14
Updated: 2018-08-01
Packaged: 2019-05-06 23:02:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,002
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14658042
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FrerardCake/pseuds/ConventionalScarlet
Summary: After moving from Metropolis to Central, Barry had a little bit of a culture shock. Small towns are slower, everyone seems to know everything about everyone and if you want to eat something you didn't make, you have to actually leave your house.Besides that, it was all going great and smooth and he even found a girl to crush on and never do anything about it, as usual.But it is Barry's luck that just as he started working for the police as a photographer, they would have a murder case.And then another.It turns out, small town rumors don't do anything for anyone's nerves when it comes to just about anything. Specially murders.





	1. Stuck

**Author's Note:**

> So, first attempt at something that tries to make sense in a long time to take it easy on me. The idea for this story came to me after my fourth cup of coffee so you can tell a lot of the plot was written at once. I'll try to keep it under 12 chapters but who knows.  
> Hope you give it a chance. Also, I'm looking for a beta so yeah there's that.

_ Central. With a name like that you would think the place would be filled with life and all the culture anywhere in Ohio can offer. This, obviously hasn't been the case since the 1950's were around and kids were playing with lead painted toys and drinking plutonium from their chemistry kits. _

_ Thank goodness I guess. _

_ Central was once a place filled with laughter, children and rosy-cheeked all white American couples. It had a movie theatre, it had a diner, plans for expansion of its neighborhoods and all around great and big promises of being big, being a place to be proud you came from. _

_ As soon as the weird bubble of the 50's "perfect" life popped, though, this place just kept spiraling until reaching its lowest point in the 90's and it hasn't shown any signs of changing ever since. _

_ Those who live here are pretty much stuck, being the high elderly population left over from the town's golden years, their children who are now parents themselves and of course, their offsprings. The teens who spent their entire teenage years in the small high school a couple blocks off the main street, trying in any way they could to rebel are now in their 40s and 30s and were either smart enough to leave before it was too late or are stuck around here. _

_ In one particular case, one of these teens was crazy enough to come back. _

_ But nothing will let you know how broken this place really is until you meet Central's 20-year-olds. Yes, there are a few college-age young men and women around the town. Some of them are in college less than an hour away and living with their parents to save money and some are working at the various little family shops and most likely will stay there until they die. Continuing the cycle I suppose. _

_ It feels like gossip to think about it though, makes you feel like one of those women in their 60s and 70s who sit around all day talking about 'today's youth', judging every teenager who dares to have sex hidden away high up Lover's Lane and every young woman getting to 25 with no kids or engagements. Yes, this is that kind of town. _

_ They'll smile at you when you walk by, invite you in for tea and call you a fag, a whore, a lowlife as soon as you turn around. Even though half the time they probably aren't wrong, it's still none of their business to tell you who you are. _

_ Central can be gorgeous too. It has nice views and some of the most interesting leftover pieces of its golden days. Walking into the town's diner makes you feel like you're a blond and white American around 17 years of age going to meet your friends for a 10 cent milkshake. _

_ Central's beautiful and ugly at the same time, young and old... It's not my favorite place but it's definitely the most human place I've ever been to. _

  


  


  


Barry honestly thought moving to this town would have been much easier. He barely brought any furniture from his last apartment. Everything he needed had to fit in his car. And besides the seven trips he had to make up the two flights of stairs to bring it all to his new place, nothing else should have been hard with this move. But turns out starting fresh is harder than he thought.

The problems started small, at first in the shape of having to replace the stove, the fridge, and every other kitchen appliance in the apartment because it's really hard to make a 1960s stove work, somehow.

Then he had little problems with his windows not closing properly, the wind coming in through the chimney...

Central seemed like a great place to start over. The town was definitely at the end of its life with the population under 6000 people and dropping.

He had gotten a job as a photographer for the police department. The very slow and uneventful job as a photographer for a small town's Police Department. Everyone he knew had called him an idiot for that. He had success in Metropolis, galleries asking for his photos. He was on his way to greatness at just 26.

His new job wasn't bad. He just really didn't do much. Fixed some mistakes the guy before made with storage and chemicals, cleaned up the equipment... And once he helped book a guy. The job was slow, to say the least.

When people asked him why would he drop everything and move to a pre-furnished apartment with nothing but his clothes and decor items in boxes that either fit his car or were left behind, Barry didn't have an answer other than 'there's just so much you can take pictures of in Metropolis'.

Barry went through small periods while living in Central for the first seven days. At first, he was happy and excited, then he started feeling lonely and isolated. His pictures were all he had at that point, going out to explore and take pictures was all he did the whole day for a little over a week.

And at the start of his second week of loneliness, his brand new coffee maker broke and he had to make the trip down those two flights of stairs to the coffee shop.

That was the day he met Iris West, the girl who'd pretty quickly become his best friend.

She made amazing coffee, had the prettiest smile Barry had ever seen. Sweet, kind to every person who ever walked inside that place, young or old, big or small. The movement there was pretty slow all day every day and since Barry didn't have much to do either, he spent all the time hanging out with her, talking to each other about how they grew up. It was fun. He was definitely crushing.

And a month into living in Central and three weeks into going to that coffee shop every day talk to Iris, Barry saw him for the first time.

Barry was used to being left alone for three minutes give or take while Iris made coffee for a client. He could honestly say that at this point in time he knew pretty much every client she had. It was a great place to hang out and meet people. And Iris always gave him their full biography.

There was her father, Joe West. Sheriff, divorced, loving and devoted father and an amazing cop. Barry's boss.

Jay Garrick was her father's right hand. His best deputy. Father to Hunter Zolomon. They didn't have the same last name because Hunter had to change it to become an actor or something. He could go on forever; Hunter's exes, their mothers and fathers, grandmothers and aunts and so on.

Iris knew everyone and she told Barry about them every chance she got. This guy, he could not name.

"One frappuccino with two shots of espresso please Miss West," He said distractedly looking down at his phone but still managed to be polite, like he was paying attention to her "No sugar--"

"No sugar, no whip cream. I know, Snart" She chuckled and got a gentle smile from the man. He actually looked up from his phone this time and spared a look around the place. Barry could almost see curiosity in his eyes for that brief second they were on him.

"And a blueberry muffin" He added.

In no time she had his order ready and Barry watched him go over to one of the small tables outside the cafe. It was weird for Barry to see someone sitting there when the temperature inside was so much nicer. It reminded him somehow of those artistic French movies he pretended to like in college.

"Oh, he's a good one," Iris said leaning on the counter as she always did when she turned back to talk to Barry. He appreciated the little quirk more than he could ever put into words. It was so casual. "Snart. Leonard Snart. He's a famous writer, has a best seller or two... Or five. Grew up here, left when he was 18 and came back for some weird reason, put down roots for some even weirder reason and is now a regular in town" She pulled the stool from the register over to sit across from Barry on the opposite side of the long counter.

"Why is it so weird? He isn't the only one to do that" Barry asked then cut a piece of his own muffin with his fingers to eat. Banana, unlike Snart's blueberry one.

"Oh... Because of what people say. You see, Snart's dad was a cop and stuff happened and well..." She sighed "Let's just say not good stuff. He was the rebellious type in high school and since then there are rumors that he was into dudes. Got even stronger when he disappeared for a whole week and came back with a dude basically glued to his side. That's what my dad says" She shrugged and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

Barry noticed that strand getting longer and somehow felt sad she would be able to tie it with her ponytail in basically no time.

Barry hated making assumptions, especially about other's sexuality. Exploring his own had been somewhat of a challenge because of that. He didn't think it was nice to just assume someone was gay because of the way they dressed or talked or walked, so paying attention to the traditional "signs" people give off while flirting was a little challenge.

But now that she mentioned it, he noticed the way Snart's fingers had dug inside his wallet to fish for the bills to hand to Iris. The way his eyes sparkled in a different way when he smiled at her. Not the creepy or disgusting way some older men looked at her, nor the sweetness others who still saw her as a little girl had. It was just friendly. Like someone trying to make your day better with just a look or smile.

His clothes also made Barry wonder. The jeans weren't skinny, they were actually very casual, old and faded. His shirt was covered by a navy blue sweater and he was carrying a parka on his arm, probably colder when he left the house or a statement piece.

It was probably Barry's wishful thinking that a guy like that, older, gorgeous and probably very well spoken would be gay or bi. Or even wear a statement piece.

"Seriously? That happens here?"

"Happens everywhere I think, people here just still sees it as normal" Iris turned around and started fixing Barry another coffee just as his own had ended and he couldn't help but watch.

He wanted to laugh when he realized he had just seconds before been analyzing a guy he saw for the first time for signs of being anything remotely queer and was now back to watching the perfection that was Iris West. He wondered if he'd ever stop crushing on everything that moved like a teenager.

Crushing on Iris wasn't a bad idea, Snart probably was. He was older. Barry knew from watching countless hours of tv and of course from his friends in college that older men were most certainly bad news.

"Hello? Barr?" Barry snapped back to reality with Iris waving her hand on his face. He hadn't realized he drifted off "Second muffin day or not?"

He smiled, ignoring the 'dude, you're weird' look on her face and shook his head pointedly "Hell no, your muffins are amazing and if I keep eating two every day, soon it'll be seven and you'll either have to take them upstairs to me or I'll have to roll down them"

That made her laugh and suddenly Barry could understand the reason why in movies girls laughed in slow motion. It was beautiful, a sound he wanted to hear for the rest of his life.

"Well, you better run a couple laps around town then because my dad wants you over for dinner tonight. He's making food and suggests you bring dessert. So try to keep it low fat, low sugar and still delicious because he can't know I'm keeping his sugar intake under watch" Her lips moved to a side pout and she raised one eyebrow at Barry as if saying 'dads'.

It made him think of his own dad and how he wishes he could still worry about him like that.

"Sure, Iris"

"Great, see you at six!"

  


  


While making the dessert that afternoon for dinner at the West's all his mind could think about was his dad. His dad, stuck in Iron Heights probably for the rest of his life for a crime he didn't commit. Stuck in a place where he could hardly ever see his son.

Barry wrote and visited as much as he could but being in the system for so long and moving so often got them both used to the fact that they were apart, they were away and they would always have at least an inch of glass between them. So, at some point, the words on paper had become enough.

It shouldn't be and Barry hated it, but he also knew it hurt his father every time Barry went over and they were living in different worlds.

He glanced away from the iPad with the vegan lemon pie recipe and focused on the letters piling up in the bowl by the door. They all looked the same. All had the same address and always would.

"I'm gonna write to him about Iris" Barry mumbled to his reflection on the now black screen of his tablet "And Central. Let him know how this dinner goes. A little tale of your regular town, USA" He chuckled, trying to hide the sadness from himself.

He still hopes to one day get his father out. But for now, he had to get the pie out of the oven.

  
  



	2. Dinner

One thing Barry kept miscalculating about Central was the time it would take to get anywhere. As a city boy, Barry suffered his entire life from chronic tardiness. He was always late, and that was just how things were.  He had learned to plan around it: around traffic, around a random old lady needing his help with groceries, and around a broken subway train.

But Central didn’t have traffic, didn’t have a subway and old ladies did their grocery shopping in the mornings; so leaving his home thirty minutes before he had to be anywhere would mean he’d be there on time—or worse, early.

Which just so happened to be the case today, of course. The pie still felt slightly warm on the passenger seat of his car and he had to sit watching it cool down while waiting for the time to pass until he could walk up to the front door of the house without any problems. 

Problems he made up in his own head, yes.

The house was gorgeous. It had a lawn in the front with bushes and a tree, a backyard where he could see another tree with a tire swing and a big porch wrapping all around the house. It had two stories and a basement, adding to that classic ‘grandma’s house’ feeling the entire town had, in Barry’s humble opinion.

If he should knock or ring the doorbell was an entirely different small town life class Barry had probably missed. Always ring the doorbell. Sometimes people can’t hear knocking; so ring the doorbell. Sometimes people can’t hear at all, so ring the doorbell because a light will go off inside the house letting the person know someone’s at the door. 

It’s polite to ring the doorbell but since everything here was different from what it was Barry used to, he knocked.

Not even thirty seconds later, Iris West opened the door with a huge smile on her face. It made his stomach jump and do backflips and probably impregnated Barry with butterflies. She looked even prettier without her hair tied up, the gloves to handle the food and the cafe’s uniform. 

“Hey! You made pie!” she grinned and took a step back from the door so Barry could walk into the super warm and cozy house.

“You said I should so…” he gave her an awkward half shrug and handed her the pie before hanging his coat on the coat hanger by the door. It had Iris’ cute purple coat and a police coat covering a holster with a gun which probably belonged to the sheriff, her father and Barry’s boss, Joe West.

“If you got a gun you have to leave it at the door, house rules,” she called over her shoulder as she made her way to the kitchen with the pie, leaving Barry to take off whatever he needed in peace, the little laugh at the end of the sentence clearly letting Barry know she totally remembered the conversation they had about how he would never carry a gun if his life depended on it. 

_ “I’m too awkward for that, I’d probably just take a picture of whoever murdered me and die.”  _

“Allen!”

Sheriff West walking up to him snapped him back to reality, fumbling to hang his coat before the man came over to hug him.

“Great to see you, kid” 

The older man gave Barry a second before pulling him into his arms for a trademark Joe West hug. He had gotten one once but always heard Iris talking about them. The memory of the hug was right; whatever Iris said about them was too watered down.

Barry enjoyed hugs; they were rare.

“Come in, we’re finishing the salad. Great to know you’re making friends around here. Friends your own age,” Joe laughed, walking back to the kitchen hoping Barry would follow him. 

Iris was sitting down with a beer, cutting up some tomatoes while all the other ingredients were on the kitchen counter on the other side of the kitchen. 

“Having friends our own age is hard around here, Dad,” Iris said in a tone that made it seem jokingly enough but also had a little bit of a hint that that had been a very different conversation at some point.

“At least you stopped trying to make friends with that Snart fella,” he shrugged and went over to the counter, getting to work on the rest of the food while Barry made himself comfortable on a chair near Iris.

“Snart is a pretty...  _ cool _ guy if you actually stopped to get to know him, Dad.”

“I knew him. In high school. Trouble as a kid, trouble as a teen, trouble as an adult. Leather jacket and all,” he got a beer out of the fridge for himself and one for Barry then continued talking, this time directed at Barry. “Don’t get me wrong, kid. I have nothing against gay people. Snart could be a unicorn bringing me infinite riches and I would still not like him. Maybe if he stopped hanging out with that Mick Rory… Maybe I’d give him a shot.”

“Right! What’s the deal with that guy?” Iris asked, turning the conversation into ‘Barry listens to the Wests’. He didn’t mind. He was as curious as the next guy.

“They’ve known each other since forever. The town thinks they’re together but I don’t. Probably just friends. Rory is the opposite of Snart in every way, wouldn’t make any sense for them to be in a relationship.” 

“Garrick thinks he saw them making out once,” she pointed out.

“Back when people still thought mullets were a good idea,” he laughed. “People grow up.” 

“Garrick is Dad’s best deputy” Iris explained, “He’s... weird, but a really great guy.”

“Weird how?” Barry asked curiously. He could remember Garrick, an older guy who reminded Barry of his father somehow. “I didn’t find him weird at all.”

“Oh, Garrick’s fine but every person who raises someone like his kid, Hunter, is probably a little weird you know?” Iris smiled and sipped her own beer.

“Hunter is an artist,” Joe said in a mocking way, even bowing down a little. “He needs… to express himself.” He couldn’t hold the expression and quickly dissolved into laughter.  Iris joined him in not even a second and Barry chuckled lightly as to not feel left out.

“Hunter Zolomon,” Iris explained once she stopped laughing. “Artistic name. Kid’s name is Jr. Anyway, he’s like a year or two older than me.  He’s done a couple modeling jobs and a TV commercial or two… some plays and likes to throw paint on a canvas so obviously, he’s the town’s artist.” she rolled her eyes. “He’s annoying, that’s what he is.  He’s in love with Caitlin.” 

“Dr. Snow, the town’s doctor,” said Joe. “Great woman, great doctor. Sweet lady. Would definitely encourage my daughter to date her if she liked girls.”

Barry had to hold a laugh at that.

“Anyway!” Iris rolled her eyes and turned to Barry, now gesturing with the knife she had been using. “Hunter had this huge crush on her… Creepy stalker level crush, she had to make up a husband just to get rid of the dude. Annoying.” 

He tried to register everything they had told him while Joe and Iris talked about something amongst themselves. Did Joe just say Iris likes girls or the doc does? He barely had time to try and work faces to the names before Joe and Iris started catching him up on things again.

“Anymore gossip Barry needs to know in order to survive?” Joe said while mixing something in a bowl. Iris was putting the final touches on the salad and started setting the table.

Barry got up to help her with the tablecloth and plates. He could hear his mom in the back of his mind telling him how rude it was to not help a lady (with just about anything. He was pretty sure she just wanted him to help  _ her  _ around the house).

“Ramon?” Iris suggested after a few moments of silence.

“Ramon is a sweet kid,” Joe shrugged and started bringing the food over to the table “Cisco Ramon. CSI and IT, you’ll probably work with him a lot… Or well, spend time with him while we wait on dog poop DNA to figure out who’s getting a fine.” He chuckled.

“He’s a super nerd! Likes all the nerdy stuff like Star Wars, Star Trek, Dungeons and Dragons… You two will get along just fine,” Iris smiled and took a step back from the table so her father had easier access to it.

“That pretty much sums it up” 

The three of them sat down to eat dinner with some more light chatter about the town for a few minutes before the conversation turned over to Barry.

He absolutely hated talking about himself.

“Your father’s Henry Allen, right?” Joe asked halfway through his chicken “Sorry if it’s a delicate subject” 

“I am,” Barry nodded, his appetite suddenly went missing at the mention of his father’s name. No one mentioned him unless they were going to talk about him being in prison. It had led to so many fights as a kid in all those foster homes.

“Must have been hard—”

“Growing up with an innocent father in prison? Yeah,” Barry cut in quickly, not wanting Joe to finish whatever he was going to say. He was enjoying his time over here too much to let that get in the middle.

Joe nodded and Iris was quiet for a few awkward seconds where nothing but the sound of chewing could be heard.

“You really think he’s innocent?” Iris was the one to break the silence, her eyes trying to be as sweet as he had ever seen her try.

Barry nodded one and sighed, “I was there. I didn’t see who killed her but I know it wasn’t my father. He arrived a minute later, dry...The guy who killed her was wet… He arrived during the storm.” He frowned. “I remember he was wet because I went up to her… She was wearing her PJs and they were nearly see-through from the rain water… My father was dry. He handed me his coat.” Barry looked up at Joe. “That’s not in any official report because no one wanted to believe me.”

Joe nodded slowly, taking a second to process the information then nodded again, “As a cop I can’t say much of my opinion on the matter. But the rain argument I hadn’t seen anywhere before.” 

“Of course,” Barry rolled his eyes. “No one thought I was mature enough to tell the difference between a guy soaking from the rain and a guy perfectly dry”

“Dad? What do you mean you hadn’t seen the argument anywhere before?” 

“I did my research before hiring him to work here, Iris. I wouldn’t bring just anyone to our town.”

That seemed to start a father-daughter argument and Barry tunned out, eyes down on his half-empty plate. Joe knew and still hired him. It had to mean something right? It had to either mean he believed Barry or that he believed a man could hold his own and that not everyone turns out like their parents. His father had cost him jobs before.

He was startled back to reality by the sound of a cell phone ringing and Joe got up to answer.

Iris glanced at Barry with a devilish smirk on and moved closer to try and listen in.

“Sorry to call…” She whispered to Barry. “CSI and photographer.” She grinned at him but her face quickly fell and she moved back to the chair. “Murder.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And plot starts to take shape! Thanks to a certain forest elf for helping me with that nice once over before I posted this. This probably reads better bc of them <3
> 
> Next part we have some fun murder stuff going on. Also very heavy stuff.


	3. Work

The flashing of his camera did nothing to stop Barry’s stomach from folding in on itself over and over again with each new angle he had to capture.

The bruises on his face. The belt still wrapped tight around his neck, breaking the skin. His shirt up to his chest because of the angle he was displayed on- lying on his back over the town’s sign. He was bent over just enough so everyone could tell he had at least two ribs broken from the position. Maybe his spine.

The tank top with tight jeans and a leather jacket, glitter on his face and clothes and the familiar wristband on his arm- he was most likely taken from a gay bar.

Barry had been to that bar many times over the years. It hit a little too close to home.

He tried to keep a cool head as he finished up the pictures, reminding himself Cisco had to deal with the worst part of it all, write reports and be meticulous about it.

Barry still had to develop those pictures and he definitely didn’t want to be in a closed dark room alone with those images.

“Allen?” He heard Joe’s voice once he stepped back to the line of police cars circling the crime scene.

The area looked so stereotypical it almost made Barry feel like he was back in college acting in some friend’s short horror movie.

“Detective West” Barry said with a nod as soon as Joe came closer to where Barry was. He fidgeted with his camera, getting it back in its protective case.

“Be very careful with those, last thing we want is for those photos getting out. I also need them ready as soon as possible”

“Sure, I’ll get to work on them tonight” 

“Tonight will be a busy night” Came another voice from behind Joe. 

Barry thought to himself he might need to pay more attention to people around him in crime scenes. He could never be a CSI like Cisco. He’d miss too many details.

“Did you find any leads with the security footage around town?” Joe turned his attention to the new cop who Barry was pretty sure was Jay Garrick.

“Yes” He lowered his voice shooting Barry a glance before continuing, “Wells’ kid and Mick Rory were the only ones to come into town during the time frame”

“Then bring them both in for questioning. They might have seen something-”

“Don’t you think it’s a little strange this happens when Rory shows up in town? We should lock him up just to be safe” 

“Rory probably has a very reliable alibi called Leonard Snart. Now stop gossiping and go work with crowd control” Joe suddenly changed his stance, clearly not too happy at what Garrick was saying (or maybe just stressed about the situation, Barry couldn’t tell).

Barry was alone again before he even realized and seeing as he didn’t have much else to do, he carefully placed the camera in the passenger seat of his car and started getting ready to leave, going through the motions of leaving a crime scene like this.

When he finally sat down to go there was a light tap on his window, startling him more than it probably should have. Cisco was there, trying to keep a serious face at the comic image of Barry probably having a tiny heart attack in his car.

“Dude, mind giving me a ride back to the station?” 

Barry reached for his camera and put it in the backseat before leaning over to open the door for Cisco to get in next to him. 

“Every seen a dead body before?” He tried to make light conversation as soon as Barry drove off. Barry really appreciated that right now.

“Not so fresh” He admitted, the slightly off feeling still stirring in his stomach for even talking like that. Cisco was nodding before he even finished his sentence as if already expecting that answer.

“I figured by the way you were shaking,” He sighed. Just then Barry noticed the metallic box on Cisco’s lap “Though not when you were taking pictures. Steady hands, dude” 

Barry smiled at that.

“Thanks. It’s all a lot easier through the lens” Life is a lot easier through photos, he wanted to say. 

“I feel bad that I’m kinda excited about this. I really wanted to process some real evidence for once you know? I just hate it that it’s a murder case. Brutal one… Poor dude was probably leaving Doorbells and got snatched up… Or he thought he was getting lucky and ended up like that and I honestly don’t know which is worse” 

Barry nodded, “I know. I’ve been to that club many time before. Can’t shake the feeling that it could have been me”.

“Could have been anyone” Cisco offered Barry a small reassuring smile, making Barry feel like he meant to say he thought that too. 

  
  
  


Central City’s Sheriff Station probably saw better days but that Barry couldn’t be absolutely sure of.Sure, it needed some new paint on the walls and the wood around the place needed some love and the ceilings still had nicotine stains from when smoking indoors was still a thing… Yes, they place had a lot of problems but Barry appreciated the story behind it, the way the wood looked and the way the desk was placed, the holding cells that were nearly always empty… It all painted a nice picture of law and order and it made Barry feel like he was transported back in time to when things were a little worse than they are today.

He would have totally missed the people sitting down on the heavy wooden benches if Cisco hadn’t pointed out as soon as they went up to sign some more papers and have their bags checked before being allowed to go in their labs.

“Dude… Snart is here with Rory,” He didn’t even try to make it look like he wasn’t staring “I wonder why” 

“Who’s the girl?” He tried to spin the conversation away from Leonard Snart and his possible boyfriend.

“Jesse Wells. People call her Jesse Quick. Kid is a speed junkie, she’s probably here because of another speeding ticket or something. She’s Harrison’s daughter, you know? The Mayor?” 

They started on their way to the back of the station where the precarious labs they worked in were.

“Yeah, I know him” He nodded, willing his brain to remember the man’s face.

“Let’s get to work” Cisco smiled and opened the door to his lab, leaving Barry to go work on the pictures all by himself in the creepy red light of his dark room.

  
  
  
  


Barry decided to take a break from working on the pictures before he started digitizing them, he made sure it was all where it should be before he opened the door and stepped out, walking nearly straight into Cisco on the other side, “Thought you were-”

“They wanna arrest Mick Rory,” He cut in, his face displaying an emotion Barry couldn’t quite understand “Snart’s lawyering up”.

As soon as they got to the holding cells, before they could even see more than just Mick Rory’s large frame sitting on the bench looking bored, they could hear Leonard Snart’s icy tone being directed at West.

“Sheriff. You’re a reasonable man,” He looked back at Barry and Cisco as soon as they walked in as if he had a sixth sense telling him about their presence “The evidence is not enough to arrest him, that road is filled with cigarette butts. You’re gonna arrest all the teenagers in town too? I bet there’s a lot of their DNA lying around that road too” The way he sounded just on the edge of being smug at the end of that sentence caught Barry’s attention. He was winging it and he knew he would win.

“I want to interrogate him first. Then we’ll see what we’re gonna do,” Joe lowered his voice to tell Snart this last part “It’s mostly to show the town we are investigating who they want us to” 

Snart scoffed and crossed his arms, “Sure. Wait until his lawyer gets here then” And with that he had left the area, walking right past Cisco and Barry, shooting them a long glance.

“Need something?” Joe asked them after a couple seconds of only standing there.

“Just letting you know I processed all the evidence and we can send the body down for the autopsy”

Joe nodded and looked at Barry “Allen?”

“I… Hmm… I’m getting started on digitalizing the pictures” He said quickly and couldn’t help but blush once he realized that was the best excuse he had.

“Great excuse,  _ Scarlet _ ” Mick Rory grunted from his spot in the holding cell, catching Barry on the lie Joe decided to ignore and turn back to his office. 

Barry looked at the man in the cell and gave him an awkward shrug “I was put on the spot”

“I suggest you get back to work, Barry!” Joe called from his office.

He quickly made his way back to his office, alone since Cisco apparently had already gone back to work.

He sat down to get to work on digitalizing the pictures on the 20 year old computer he had to work with.

  
  
  


Barry was getting ready to leave at around 3am once he was satisfied with his work when he was startled by the figure of a man leaning against the doorway to Barry’s small “office”.

“What the-”

“When I was little this used to be a closet” Leonard Snart went off, completely ignoring Barry’s shock. It was the second heart attack he had today. 

“You shouldn’t be here” Was all the could say once he willed his heart to slow down “How did you get to  this area anyway?”

“You’re not half as secure in here as you think you are,” He smirked, “Anyone can walk in and out. I wouldn’t leave my family jewels here” 

Barry tilted his head to the side slightly in confusion at the random conversation he was having.

“I was looking for the bathroom,” Snart said seeing Barry was still a little confused “That was a joke” 

“Sure, I knew it.” He crossed his arms over his chest and straightened his back, shaking his head, “I’m tired, not stupid.”

Snart just nodded and Barry could swear just then he noticed how tired the man was, pushing himself away from the wall he was leaning against.

“See you later at Iris’ when we inevitably go sell her our souls for a cup of coffee” He shot Barry a wink before leaving..

Barry stood there like an idiot, watching the man leave. He locked up his office a little more attentive than he usually was and started out to the parking lot wondering what had just happened there.

Barry tried to stay aware of his surroundings this time. He promised himself he was going to pay more attention to the people around him, specially when he was alone.

“Kid,” Maybe he would pay attention starting tomorrow morning, “Relax. Central’s just as boring and safe as ever”.

Barry turning when he recognized the voice and saw Mick Rory smoking a cigarette while leaning against the hood of a car. 

He offered Barry a smile once he still didn’t seem to relax “Drive safe,  _ Scarlet _ ”

Barry barely muttered him a “thanks, you too” and unlocked his car. He got in as fast as he could and drove home, wishing more than anything that he were in bed right now and not having weird encounters with strangers after seeing his first corpse.

Maybe Barry wouldn’t sleep tonight after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Barry's absolutely a weird narrator lol. A lot of what happened here wasn't what I wanted to write but it was what Barry saw.  
> I have no idea how lock up and stuff works and since law's different around the world so this is mostly based off what I'm familiar with.  
> I'm stuck on chapter 4 rn bc as usual Barry's being unreliable.  
> Comments are always encouraged and welcome.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am honestly not happy with this. It feels like too much of a filler tbh. Part of it is probably due to the fact that Barry couldn't see a mountain ten feet away from him lol.   
> I'll try to get the next one up asap because it's so much better.

Barry was not easy when it came to waking up. He usually needed around two very loud alarms going off at the same time, which was partially a reason why he was always late. 

But the morning after the first murder he didn’t have any problems waking up even though he went to bed at nearly four in the morning. He had to wonder when would sleep catch up to him as he went through his morning routine before getting downstairs for the traditional cup of coffee he had at Iris’ cafe.

“Good morning,” Iris said a little more somber than she usually was at that time of day. She was a morning person “I heard about what happened last night. How are you?”

“Well… Better than that guy, that is for sure,” Barry tried to joke even though it felt too wrong, “Thanks for bringing those images back to my head” He said sarcastically and yeah, maybe he was a little too tired.

He had so little sleep that the last thing he thought about was the images, almost as if it had all been some type of drunken haze but now that it had been mentioned he could remember the scene as clear as he saw them through the camera. 

He saw the purple lips, the open lifeless eyes, the belt wrapped around his neck so tight it was breaking the skin.

His stomach did a couple backflips.

“Sorry,” Iris said honestly and started getting Barry’s usual ready “I shouldn’t have brought it up”.

“I don’t even think I’m allowed to talk about it so…” He offered her a small smile and a half shrug “No need to apologize. I’m just cranky, I need a full night sleep or else I have the mood of a toddler”.

“Here’s your bottle, baby.” She chuckled and passed him his usual coffee order.

They were mostly quiet as the morning rush came in through the door for their own caffeine fix. Barry tried to exercise his observation skills, paying attention to the people walking in Caitlin Snow came in a hurry before she left for her clinic, Hunter Zolomon got some fancy latte and took a picture before handing it to the girl he was with (pretty brunette in heeled boots), Jay Garrick came right after and shot his son a death glare that made Iris try to hide her laughter so Barry figured he’d have to ask (he also ordered what seemed like enough coffee for half the station); and then Mick Rory stopped by for a black coffee and left without saying much else. 

When Barry thought the morning rush was over and he’d finally get to catch up with Iris before he had to get his ass to the sheriff’s station, he felt a presence sitting next to him.

“For a photographer, you don’t seem to pay attention to things” 

“I was paying attention, I’m pretty sure you are the one who walks like a cat on a mattress in a soundproof room” Barry sighed, shaking his head as Iris handed Snart his coffee. It was probably his usual since Barry didn’t hear him order it.

“Very specific image,” He chuckled, “You’re new in town, need to be scared off like everyone else, that’s all” 

Barry rolled his eyes, “I’m Barry Allen,” He offered and extended his hand for Leonard to shake, the awkward angle from them sitting next to each other didn’t seem to bother him.

“I know. Same way you know I’m Leonard Snart,” He slowly turned his head towards Iris then back at Barry “People talk.”

The conversation would have died there if it had been up to Barry. He wasn’t too shy- at least not anymore- but Snart was gorgeous and Barry had to think very hard about what he said in front of the guy, hoping he wouldn’t sound stupid or anything. People tended to treat him like a kid a lot back home and it stuck with him.

“I saw your portfolio online. You have an eye for detail,” Leonard started as soon as Barry had accepted he would drink his coffee in silence “I’m planning a remodeling, but my house has history and I’d hate to lose it under a new coat of paint” 

Barry nodded slowly, not really seeing where this conversation was going, if anywhere.

“I’ll pay” Leonard added.

“I’m not an interior designer?” Barry tilted his head, confused. He blushed when he saw Leonard roll his eyes and look at him with those icy blue eyes of his.

“I want you to take pictures of the place, different times of the day, different days and different seasons so it’s a long job,” He added, “I’ll pay, of course. For the hour.”

If someone caught the conversation at Snart’s last sentence they would think Barry was a prostitute. The thought of that happening forced a chuckle out of Barry’s mouth before he could even try to control himself. 

He cleared his throat and felt the blood rising to his cheeks but once he saw the other’s face though, he was pretty sure Leonard did that on purpose. At least that one line.

It worked to break the tension because somehow after that the conversation seemed to flow naturally. Snart made a joke about Mick being right to call him Scarlet, they talked about when Barry could come over to his place to do some preliminary photography and Barry had to ask him about the house. 

“It was built in the 60s by this guy and he was… Well, eccentric is the word people used to describe him back then. Heard he was friends with Pollock but never really looked into it. The entire thing is still the way he left it, which is why I wanna do this. I love the history and the art but… I want my kitchen appliances to be at least half my age you know?” He chuckled and ordered a second coffee, this one to go.

“Here,” He handed Barry a card, “Text me as soon as you get off work so you can go up there and see it for yourself. I wanna get started as soon as possible.”

He got up when Iris brought his coffee over with a smile, “Here you go. Have a nice day.”

He nodded at her with a half smiled then at Barry and left.

Iris turned to Barry with a teasing smile and leaned against the counter “He pays by the hour”

“Haha, very funny”

  
  
  
  
  


Work was and would always be work, whether it was something you really liked to do or not. The whole “do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life” crap was pure bullshit. Sure you had a lot less stress if you actually liked what you did for a living, but work would always be work, always have that edge of responsibility, that slight pressure to behave a certain way and do things a certain way.

If you like what you do, you wanna be amazing at it and judgment is always a thousand times harder.

That’s why he took so long to get to Snart’s place, at least that’s what Barry kept telling himself. 

Driving around Central always gave Barry the weird feeling you get when watching a horror movie set in an abandoned and driving the deserted roads up to Snart’s house wasn’t any different but the view certainly made up for it.

The 1960s house was partially hidden by trees and bushes, most of the huge floor to ceiling windows had the curtains at least partially covered except for the ones looking into what looked like a sitting room. 

The pond outside looked natural and was covered by the falling leaves. 

“Taking pictures already?” 

Barry nearly dropped the camera on the ground when he heard to voice so close to him.

“Sorry! I just… It just… You know it looks-” 

“Relax,” Len rolled his eyes and leaned against Barry’s car, “that’s what you’re here for. Thought you’d get here earlier.” 

“I was kinda busy- Not that this isn’t important! I mean- Not that what I was doing was more important or less just-” Barry started rambling.

“Kid, it’s fine. We’ll just give you a tour and you see if you’re interested in the job.”

Barry nodded, chuckling "Alright yeah sounds good... We?" 

"Mick's the one taking care of the re-design. I'm a writer, not an interior designer." Len rolled his eyes and started walking towards the house.

  
  


“Male, 28… Same as before,” Barry heard Joe sigh to one of his deputies just as he arrived on the scene. 

He had calmed down his stomach already, setting himself up for what was to come. He had his camera ready and could even see Cisco to the side getting his things ready to do his job.

All the prep in the world could never have him ready for the thing in front of him. 

The crime scene was very close to the one before, the body propped up against the town signs this time instead of thrown over it. Same clothes, same bracelet, similar appearance.

Barry was starting to hate his job, because sure he saw himself taking pictures of corpses every now and then before he accepted the job, he knew what it entailed, but waking up in the middle of the night to go photograph murder victims was definitely not something Barry had anticipated or he wouldn’t have taken the job.

“Hate to say this, Sheriff… But as far as I can tell the body was put here around ten earlier tonight… And-

“And that’s the same time we all saw Rory coming back in town,” He sighed, “I want Mick Rory arrested,” Joe called out to the cops around him, “He might be armed and dangerous.” 

“Sheriff-” Barry started.

“Ramon, get to work. Last thing I want is the press to hear about a second one of these…”

“Sheriff-” Barry tried again.

“Pictures, Allen. I want them ready as soon as the sun’s up.” 

Barry sighed. He wanted to tell Joe he couldn’t start a witch hunt, that he had to look at more before accusing Mick Rory of being a murderer just because he came back into town around the time the body was left there. 

But it was none of his business, so he just waited for Cisco to finish up his job and drove them both back to work.


End file.
